Steve Christensen v. Bannock County Sheriff's Department et al

Filing 42

ORDER. Motions due by 4/5/2011. Parties should contact Jeff Severson regarding Daubert issues by 12/14/2010. Parties should notify the Court by 3/22/2011 if the case has either settled or will definitely go to trial. Jury Trial set for 5/9/2011 01:30 PM in Pocatello - District Courtroom before Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Telephonic Pretrial Conference set for 4/19/2011 03:00 PM in Boise Chambers before Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by cjm)

Steve Christensen v. Bannock County Sheriff's Department et al

Doc. 42

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F O R THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

S T E V E CHRISTENSEN, C a s e No. 4:09-CV-189-BLW Plaintiff, ORDER v. B A N N O C K COUNTY SHERIFF'S D E P A R T M E N T , an agency of an Idaho p o litic a l subdivision; BANNOCK C O U N T Y , an Idaho Political S u b d iv is io n ; DETECTIVE DOUG A R M S T R O N G , in his official and in d iv id u a l capacity; DETECTIVE TOM F O L Z , in his official and individual c a p a c ity; DETECTIVE M.D. HART, in h is official and individual capacity, Defendants.

O n November 30, 2010, the Court held a status conference for the purpose of s e ttin g a trial date in this matter. Based on that conference, the Court issues the following o rd e r: N O W THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following deadlines and p ro c e d u re s shall govern the remainder of this litigation: 1. T ria l Date: A 5-day trial shall be set for May 9, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. in the Federal C o u rth o u s e in Pocatello, Idaho. Beginning on day two, trial shall begin at 8:30

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a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m., with two fifteen minute breaks. 2. P re tria l Date: A telephonic pretrial conference shall be held on April 19, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. Counsel for Plaintiff shall initiate the call. The Court can be reached at (2 0 8 ) 334-9145. The purpose of the conference is to discuss and resolve (1) the le g a l issues remaining in the case; (2) evidentiary issues; (3) trial logistics; and (4) a n y other matter pertaining to the trial. Not less than twenty days prior to the date o f the pretrial conference, the parties shall communicate and reach agreement on a s many items as possible. The parties shall be prepared to discuss with the Court th o s e items over which counsel disagrees. 3. R u le 702 Motions: In cases involving serious Daubert issues, the parties shall c o n ta c t Jeff Severson on or before December 14, 2010. 4. W itn e s s Lists: The parties shall exchange witness lists on or before April 5, 2011. T h e witness lists shall contain the material listed in F.R.C.P. 26(a)(3)(A)&(B), and s h a ll include a full summary, not just the subject, of the witnesses' expected t e s t i m o n y. 5. E x h ib it Lists, Exhibits, Proposed Voir Dire, Proposed Jury Instructions, Trial B rie f s and Motions in Limine: All exhibit lists, proposed voir dire, proposed jury in s tru c tio n s , trial briefs, and motions in limine shall be filed with the Court on or b e f o re April 5, 2011. On the same date the parties shall exchange all trial exhibits, b u t shall not provide them to the Court until the day of trial. Counsel shall only

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provide the Court with a set of original pre-marked exhibits. Because of the use of e le c tro n ic evidence presentation systems, it is unnecessary to provide any copies. Counsel may wish to have available in the courtroom a copy of any exhibits which th e Court may find difficult to review through the evidence presentation system. The exhibit lists shall follow the guidelines set out in Local Rule 16.3(f) to the e x te n t it is not inconsistent with this Order. The exhibit lists shall be prepared on f o rm provided by the Deputy Clerk, with sufficient copies for the Judge, the D e p u ty Clerk, and the Law Clerk. Exhibit numbers 1 through 999 shall be re s e rv e d for joint exhibits; exhibit numbers 1000 through 1999 shall be reserved f o r plaintiff's exhibits; exhibit numbers 2000 through 2999 shall be reserved for th e first defendant listed on the caption; exhibit numbers 3000 through 3999 shall b e reserved for the second defendant listed on the caption; and so on. Counsel s h a ll review their exhibits, determine any duplication, and jointly mark and s tip u la te to the admission of those exhibits that both sides intend to offer and rely u p o n . The proposed jury instructions shall follow the guidelines set out in Local R u le 51.1 to the extent it is not inconsistent with this Order. Additionally, counsel s h a ll provide a clean copy of the Jury Instructions to the Court in Word Perfect f o rm a t and emailed to [e-mail]. 6. S e ttle m e n t/M e d ia tio n Deadline: The parties agree that they shall notify the Court o n or before March 22, 2011 that the case has either settled or will definitely go to

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trial. 7. T ria l Procedures: a. T h e Court will generally control voir dire, and counsel will be limited to 203 0 minutes. Counsel are cautioned not to repeat questions already asked by th e Court or other counsel and are advised that the Court will not permit v o ir dire which appears intended to influence the jury rather than explore a p p ro p ria te concerns with a juror's ability to be fair and impartial. b. C o u n s e l shall exercise good faith in attempting to reach a stipulation on u n d is p u te d facts and admission of exhibits. c. D u rin g trial, the jury will be in the box hearing testimony the entire trial day b e tw e e n 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., except for two standard fifteen minute m o rn in g and afternoon recesses. d. D u rin g the time the jury is in the jury box, no argument, beyond ones e n te n c e evidentiary objections, shall be allowed to interrupt the flow of te stim o n y. Almost all objections should be stated in one to three words (" h e a rs a y" , "asked & answered", "irrelevant", etc.). If counsel have matters th a t need to be resolved outside the presence of the jury, they are to advise th e Court and counsel prior to the issue arising during trial so that it can be h e a rd during a recess, or before or after the jury convenes. Where the need f o r such a hearing cannot be anticipated, the Court will direct the examining

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counsel to avoid the objectionable subject and continue on a different line o f questioning so that the objection can be argued and resolved at the next re c e s s . To avoid late-night sessions, counsel are advised to bring up all a n tic ip a te d evidentiary questions in their pretrial briefs. i. E x a m p le s of improper objections: "I object to that question, Your H o n o r, because I am sure that Charlie Witness did not read that d o c u m e n t very carefully before he signed it"; or, "I object, Your H o n o r, because Charlene Witness has already testified that she can't re m e m b e r" . These "speaking objections" would suggest an answer. e. C o u n s e l shall have enough witnesses ready to ensure a full day of te stim o n y. If witnesses are unavoidable delayed, counsel shall promptly n o tif y the court and opposing counsel. f. W h e n counsel announce the name of a witness called to testify, the Court or th e clerk will summon the witness forward to be sworn, the clerk will a d m in is te r the oath and, after the witness is seated, ask the witness to state h e r or his name and spell her or his last name for the record. I will then in d ic a te to counsel that she or he may inquire of the witness. g. P le a s e do not address parties or witnesses (including your own) by her or h is first name unless such familiarity is clearly appropriate, and is not likely to be offensive to the witness or any juror. In case of doubt, don't.

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h.

Y o u r clients and your witnesses should be instructed that they should a lw a ys refer to you and opposing counsel by last names.

i.

Y o u are responsible to advise your clients, your witnesses and everyone a s so c ia te d with your client to avoid all contact with the jurors. This p ro h ib itio n includes seemingly innocuous behavior like riding on an e le v a to r with a juror, saying hello to a juror, or even acknowledging the ju ro r's presence.

j.

I try to conduct at least 2 or 3 informal jury instruction conferences off the re c o rd to try and resolve most differences by agreement. Those sessions will b e held at the end of the trial day and may stretch into the evening. At the e n d of those sessions, we will have refined the issues of contention so that I c a n give you a set of my final instructions and you can state your objections o n the record. DATED: November 30, 2010

B. LYNN WINMILL Chief U.S. District Court Judge

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